Florida voters disapprove of the way President George W. Bush, Gov. Jeb Bush, the
Florida Legislature, the U.S. Congress, state and federal courts and the media handled the
Terri Schiavo case, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Only the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to consider the matter, gets a 50 - 44
percent approval, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
Looking at how others handled the case, Florida voters disapprove:

59 - 35 percent of President Bush's involvement;

59 - 35 percent of Gov. Bush's role;

71 - 23 percent of the media's handling of the matter;

64 - 27 percent of the U.S. Congress' role;

62 - 26 percent of the Florida Legislature's actions;

48 - 45 percent of the Florida courts;

49 - 43 percent of the federal courts.

"Most Florida voters disapprove of the action President Bush and his brother, Gov.
Jeb Bush, took to prolong the life of Terri Schiavo. Congress and the Florida legislature,
both of which passed legislation aimed at keeping Schiavo alive, also got bad marks from
the voters. Only the Supreme Court, which resolutely refused to get involved in the case,
won a bare majority support in Florida," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"The worst rating went to the news media, with less than a quarter of voters
approving the sensational coverage, while 71 percent said they disapproved of how the
media handled the story," Richards added.

"While both Bush brothers got negative marks for their handling of the Schiavo
case, it does not appear to have impacted their overall job approval ratings in Florida,
which changed only slightly from the February 24 Quinnipiac University poll, taken
before the case had gained much attention," Richards said.

Looking at their own end-of-life situation:

81 percent of Florida voters say they have made it clear to their family what they
want done if they can't make medical decisions for themselves;

55 percent say they have a living will;

58 percent say they have designated a health care proxy.

"The Schiavo case appears to have heightened public awareness of the larger problem
involved, with most Florida voters making arrangements for their own last days,"
Richards said.

From April 4 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,044 Florida registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts
public opinion surveys in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and
the nation as a public service and for research.
For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu and quicklinks

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Jeb Bush is handling his job as
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